mcchesney



R: MCCHESN EY Breach-Loading Fire-Arm.

' 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. 65,103 l Patented May 28,. 1867.

4 INVEN 0R. TNES/SESI et @witch giants @anni @Hire REUB-N MCGHESNEY, 0F UTICA, NEW YORK. 'Leners Patent No. 65,103, dans my es, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRBEGH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS.

dige tlgehule return tu in ugese tettets ntcnt nu linking part nf tip smite TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, REUBN McCIIESNEY, of Utica, in the county of Oneida, and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Brecch-Loading Fire-Arm and I do hereby declare 'that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part'of this specification, in which- Figure lfsheet, l, is a side view of the arm'with the hammer closed.

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the hammer full cocked.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the breech-piece and its vibrating fulcrum.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the peculiar construction of the hammer.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the trigger and-the vibrating latch which supports the rear end of the breech-piece when closed.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the cartridge-shell extractor.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the lock-plate showing the slotted plate pivoted to its inside face for thrusting out the extractor.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of my improved adjustable sight.

Figure 9, sheet 2, is a side view of the arm with the lock-plate removed.

Figure 10 is a similar view to iig. 9, with the hammer halt' cocked.

Figure 11 is a similar view to figs. 9 and 10, showing the hammer full cocked and the breech-piece locked in its place.

Figure 12 is a top view of iig. 9.

Figure 13 is an enlarged view of the breech-piece, its vibrating fulcrum and its spring applied in the'loekchamber, and indicated in two positions.

kFigure 14 is a longitudinal section taken vertically throughthe adjustable sight.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to certain novel improvements 4on a breech-loading {ire-arm, in which a movable breechpiece is employed, which is supported forward of the breech of the barrel, and so constructed that when the hammer is drawn back to a half cock, this breech-piece will he depressed to allow of the insertion of a. cartridge,

'and then returned to a position for closing the breech of the barrel in the act of full cocking the hammer. The

mainv object of my invention is to support the forward end of a breech-piece in front of the breech of the barrel upon 'a vibrating fulcruunin such manner that very little friction will beproduced by the movement of the breeclrpioce upon said support; at the same time the breech-piece will'be allowed to rise to a position in front of a breech-check, where it will be wholly sustained by the latter against an upward or downward tendency in iiring the piece, as will be hereinafter described. Another object of my invention is to provide for ejecting the cartridge shells from thercar end of the barrel simultaneously with the dropping of a'b'r'eech-piece which is supported in front of the breech end of the barrel by'means of a contrivance which will admit of the full insertien o' the cartridge when the hammer is at half cock, as will be hereinafter described. Another object of my invention is to connect the hammer and the breech-piece together, when the fermer is closed or partly closed, in such manner that the breech-piece will be sustained by the hammer, as well as by the solid breechcheck of the frame, when the piece is discharged, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the artto understand my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanyingdrawings, A represents the metallic lock frame, which has secured to it the barrel B and the stoel: C. D represents thc breech-piece for closing the rear end of the barrel, which piece is constructed with a forward extension, D', that extends forwardbeneath the barrel, and is supported upon an open vibrating fulcruni, a. The ends of this fulcrum-piece a are rounded and fitted intocorresponding depressions which are formed in the frame A, and in the lower edge, near the front end of thebr-cech-piece D, as clearly shown in iig. The upper end of' the piece ct is allowed to have a free Vibrating movement backward and forward, and it is prevented from lateral displacement by the side plates of the lock frame. The forward part of the breechpiece extension D abuts snugly against th'e upper sideof the chamber beneath the barrel, and this `piece D D is allowed to have a free longitudinal play at the same time that it vibrates upon the fulcrum-piece a.. When the' breech-piece is'releascd froina supporting latch', which; is applied-beneath 'itsrear end, it is depressed to the 'posit-ionshown.-in'g.,10, bye. spring, a,"whieh is secured :atjone end forward of the fulcrum-piece a, passed forward throughtli-ispiece, andeonneeted to the lo'wcr face of the extension D by a link, a2. When the breechpieee is raised, as shownin figs. 9, 11, and 13, its rear end is sustained by the curved face abutment I), which is formed upon the 'frame A. 'lhis abutment I) forms a seat against which the breech-piece is brought by allowing the latter to move upward and backward in bringingit to a position for closing the rear end of the barrel. 'lo obtain this backward movement of the breech-piece when raised, its forward abutting surface is curved as shown in thc drawings, which surfaceis brought in contact with a correspondingly curved surface of the breech end of thc barrel. The curved face o'f the abutment b is nearly perpendicular to the axis cf the barrel, but may incline forward a little, as shown in fig. 13, so that there will bc no downward tendency of the breech-piece when it receives the shock of the discharge. The rear edge of the breech-piece is curved so that it maybe lifted to its seat and fit snugly therein, as shown in lig. 13. At the rear end and lower side of the breech-piece a notch is formed for receiving a latch,d, the lower forked'ends of which receive between them the trigger c, and are pivot-ed to the trigger-pin c', as shown in iig. 5. The trigger-springfis connected to the forked latch 'd at one end, and presses upon the trigger at the other end so that this spring serves for both thc latch and trigger. When the rear enlarged end of the breech-piece is raised to a position for closing the rear end of the barrel, the sprinfrf will force the upper end of thc latch forward beneath the breech-piece and hold it there. The object of the latch d is to support the breech-piece in the position shown in figs. 9, 11, and 13, when it is not sustained by the forward extension of the hammer G. The latch d has a spring-pin, z', passing' transversely through it near its upper end, one end of which pin projects from the side of the latch and is slightly bevelled, so that in the act of drawing back the hammer an oset, g, on the inner face of this hammer, will be brought in contact with pin z', and move the latch back far enough to allow spring al to depress the breech-piece D D', as shown in iig. 10. lVhcn the hammer G is released from a full cock, the offsctg on its face being bevelled forward will readily pass by the pin zby thrusting it inward. The hammer G is arranged on one side of the breechpiece and pivoted between the side plates of the lock frame, and to these plates by means of studs j. The upper part of' the hammer is the segment of a circle concentric to its axis of motion, and on the inner face of the segment is a concentric flange, g, which is received in a slot, g2, in the side of the brocoli-piece when the hammer is closed. This iange is designed for connecting the breech-piece and hammer together in such manner that the latter will afford an auxiliary support for said piece during the discharge. The breech-piece D D is -ra-ised to a position, shownin iigs. 9 and 11, for closing the rear end of the barrel by means of a forward extension, L, of the hammer, shown clearly in figs.,4 und 11, which is brought in contact with the bottom of said breech-piece, as the hammer is moved from a half cock to full cock. The hammer-spring J proceeds forward between the forked ends of the latch d, and is connected to a lateral projectionof the hammer by a link, l'c. The sere on the trigger c enters notches which are formed in the lower rounded edge of the hammer, and holds the hammer at half cock or at full cock. The lower part of the hammer thus forms the tumbler for the trigger. Ilhc cartridge-shell extractor l, is itted into a recess formed in one side of the frame A and barrel B, so as to have a longitudinal movement in a direction with the length of said barrel, as shown in figs. 9, 10, 11, and 13, sheet 2. The extractor is partially-ejected beyond the end of the barrel by means of abevelled finger, n', which is formed on a slotted plate, n, that is pivoted to the inner face of the movable lock-plate face, as shown in-lig. 7. The plate n receives in its slot a stud,p, which projects from the forward extension of the breechpiece, so that when this breech-piece drops, as shown in iig'. 10, plate n will bring its finger '11. in contact with the forward end of a bcvcllcd spring portion, Z, on the extractor l, and eject the cartridge-suddenly by a blow. The extractor Z can then be moved back to its place by the insertion of another cartridge. When the breechpiece is raised to its place by the full cooking of the hammer G, the bevelled spring piece l on the extractor l, will allow the finger n to pass by it and fall in front of it again in a position to again eject a cartridge shell when .the breech-piece is depressed. The sight-piece s is pivoted to two plates t t, the lower ends of which are pivoted to the base-piece F, so that the sight-pieces is raised and depressed in the arc of a. circle. The pivot 'pin of the upper plato t has a slight movement in its bearings which is allowed by the oblong holes through the side pieces on m', through which the ends of said pin pass. The edges of the side pieces m m are curved con- -ccntric to the axis of the pivot pin of the upper plate t, and the edge of the segment m has teeth cut i'n it for receiving the worm on' a screw, e', which is applied to an oifsct on the upper plate t, as shown in fig. 8. This worm screw has a milled head on it, by which it is turned with the fingers and the sight raised or lowered. A spring, w, which acts upon the pin of the upper plate t, holds the worm screw down in place upon its toothed segment. Instead of having the sight-piece s pivotcd to two platest t, as above stated, it may be secured to the upper end of the upper plate t and the lower plate dispensed witln The hammer is provided with a safety no'tch to keep the firing pin from touching the cartridge when the arm is charged. Thus the hammer can be let down from a full cock to said notch and the arm carried without danger. It will be seen that when the breech D is down, the hammer cannot move forward, nor can the hammer strike upon the cartridge until every part is in its proper position. Instead of using the sight-piece 3, a globe-sight may be applied tothe parallel pieces t t, and instead of applying the worm screw v to the upper piece t, it may be applied to the baseF. The

oblong holes through which the pivot of the upper plate t passes, allows of the adjustment of the sight without using the worm screw v, and the spring u' keeps this screw 1) in place upon the toothed segment m.

- Having thus' described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Sustaining the forward extension of the breech-piece upon a vibrating fulcrum-piece, a, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the breech-piece D, fulcrum-piece a, and latch d, operating substantially in the manner'set forth.

3. Constructing the fulcrum-piece a so as to receive through it the spring a', which depresses the breechpieco when the latter is released from the latch d, substantially as described.

4. The arrangement of the cartridge-shell extractor l l', so as to bc operated upon with the full force of the spring a through the agency of the intermediate slotted device n nA', and the breech-piemel) D, thc said parts being thrown into action by the act of cockingfthe arm, substantially as described.

45. Constructing the hammer G with a. flange, gl, for entering a. recess, g, formed in the breech-piece and assisting in holding the latter firmly in place, substantially as described,

6. Constructing the latch dof the breech-piece so as to receive the forward end of the main-spring JV through it, said latch d being pivoted upon the trigger-pin c', substantially as described.

7. Applyingl the pin z' to the breech-holding latch, and operating said pin by the projection g on the inside face vof the hammer G, substantially in'tho mannner shown and described.

REUBEN MCCHESNEY.

Witnesses:

J. ALBERT' Glrrnnr,l DE WITT CHURcHrLL. 

